Abrams, who was revealed as director of the debut Disney era Star Wars film in January, will write the new film with experienced series regular Lawrence Kasdan. The latter worked with George Lucas on the acclaimed screenplay for 1980's The Empire Strikes Back, and also had a hand in 1983's Return of the Jedi, along with Indiana Jones outing Raiders of the Lost Ark.

"I am very excited about the story we have in place and thrilled to have Larry and JJ working on the script," said Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy via StarWars.com. "There are very few people who fundamentally understand the way a Star Wars story works like Larry, and it is nothing short of incredible to have him even more deeply involved in its return to the big screen. JJ of course is an incredible storyteller in his own right. Michael Arndt has done a terrific job bringing us to this point and we have an amazing film-making and design team in place already prepping for production."

Arndt's departure comes as something of a surprise as the director of Toy Story 3 had appeared to be a vital part of the new Star Wars era. He won an Oscar for 2006's Little Miss Sunshine and was nominated for 2010's Toy Story 3. It is not clear whether he will maintain a credit on the completed screenplay.

Nevertheless, fans of the series will be encouraged by Abrams' willingness to take charge of the new film at the story development level. The director also took on screenwriting duties for 2006's Mission: Impossible III and 2011's Super 8, both of which were well-reviewed, though he handed duties to others for both Star Trek films.

Disney bought all rights to Star Wars last October with its purchase of LucasFilm for $4.05bn. Episode VII is due to shoot in London early next year ahead of a 2015 release date. The studio is to release a new trilogy of films, as well as a series of standalone movies that could feature characters from the original triptych that opened between 1977 and 1983. Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) and Harrison Ford (Han Solo), have all been tipped to return, though the latter has appeared more reticent about returning to the role that made his name at the age of 71.